Whole grain pasta, fresh kale (or spinach), and ground turkey meat topped with a reasonable amount of mozzarella cheese and baked until golden. This turkey pasta bake is perfect for a fairly quick weeknight meal, leftovers the next day and a meal prep.
In my house, everyone loves pasta with cheese, I bet in yours too. I just knew that I could sneak in a bunch of kale in this turkey pasta bake and nobody would complain. Nutritional powerhouse, kale is full of fiber, iron and antioxidants. I could see how this casserole would be a perfect candidate for going bad box of spinach.
Many people are scared of pasta because of carbs and heavy sauces. Here is my take on it: whole grain pasta made with tomato sauce and a little bit of cheese will not hurt you if eaten in moderation. I mean once in a few weeks 1 – 1.5 cups. Remember, one bad meal won’t make you fat, just like one healthy meal won’t make you skinny.
How to Make Turkey Pasta Casserole
- Cook pasta al dente as per package instructions, undercooking by 4 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water, and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Preheat large skillet on medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ground turkey and cook for another 7 minutes, breaking meat into pieces and stirring occasionally.
- Add tomato sauce, honey, pasta water, herb seasoning, salt, pepper, kale and stir. Add previously cooked pasta and stir again.
- Transfer half of the mixture in 9″ x 13″ baking dish and sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese. Top with remaining mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/4 cups cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove foil and broil until cheese is golden brown. Serve hot garnished with parsley if desired.
Whole grain pasta has more fiber than white pasta that has been stripped of nutrients. Simple carbohydrates like white pasta and rice cause high spikes of insulin thus inhibiting fat storage. I learnt that my body need good carbs to prevent me from overeating other food and thus going over my daily calorie intake. I do not count calories but I know what food I need to eat and when.
This baked ground turkey pasta casserole turned out delicious and juicy. It serves 8 people and you could easily freeze the leftovers. Or assemble the casserole and freeze with plastic wrap on top. When ready to eat, bake from frozen and increase baking time by 15 – 20 minutes.
I remember when I was pregnant, I stocked my freezer with similar casseroles, and they helped a lot once the baby arrived. I hope you and kids enjoy!
Looking for more healthy pasta recipes? Try my one pot taco pasta with pumpkin, healthy pasta with broccoli or slow cooker whole chicken and pasta.
PrintGround Turkey Pasta Bake
Turkey Pasta Bake is a casserole recipe made healthy with ground turkey, whole wheat pasta, kale or spinach, and tomato sauce.
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 48 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Casserole
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: North American
Ingredients
- 3 cups (9 oz) whole wheat penne/fusilli pasta, uncooked
- 1 tsp olive oil, extra virgin
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 lbs ground turkey
- 28 oz tomato sauce, low sodium
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 cup pasta water
- 1 tbsp italian herb seasoning (oregano or basil), dried
- 1 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 – 5 cups kale (1 bunch), stems removed & chopped*
- 2 cups (7 oz) mozzarella cheese, shredded & divided
- 1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Cook pasta al dente as per package instructions, undercooking by 4 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water, and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Preheat large skillet on medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ground turkey and cook for another 7 minutes, breaking meat into pieces and stirring occasionally.
- Add tomato sauce, honey, pasta water, herb seasoning, salt, pepper, kale and stir. Add previously cooked pasta and stir again.
- Transfer half of the mixture in 9″ x 13″ baking dish and sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese. Top with remaining mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/4 cups cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove foil and broil until cheese is golden brown. Serve hot garnished with parsley if desired.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
Freeze: Assemble, tightly wrap with plastic and then foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as per instructions + 15 minutes.
Notes
*Spinach can be substituted for kale, especially that going bad in the fridge box staring right at you. When my spinach goes bad, I freeze the box to use later in a casserole recipe like this turkey pasta bake.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
Zucchini is 90% water so unless you are ok with that. It is going to be a bit watery. Kale are greens with releasing no water. Also depends how much you use. Maybe dice, salt it and squeeze in a towel to get rid of some moisture.
Great, thank you so much for the feedback! I will leave review and let you know how it comes out 🙂
Also, thanks so much for your recipes! They have been a huge help for me as I’m learning how to cook healthier, real food for my family. Your recipes are great!!
I love this recipe – so delicious and doesn’t feel heavy. Thank you!
I wonder about the nutrition information. To calculate calories, how big did you make each serving (9×13 dish makes approx 8 servings, but how big are those)? Thank you for any help with that!
Glad you enjoy teh recipe. I just divide the dish into 8 equal portions. I do not measure each one.
When you transfer the food into the baking dish, there’s quite a lot of liquid. At first I thought I would not include it, but then I thought since there’s so much of it, maybe the recipe needed it to cook properly, so I hoped I guessed right and put it in. When it was ready, there was a lot of liquid in the bottom of the baking dish. It didn’t effect the taste or texture since most of it stayed in the dish and didn’t make it onto our plates, but I still have to wonder if it was necessary to include all the liquid.
Try different brand of tomato sauce next time. Some brands are too watered down which could cause xtra water. I didn’t have that much which nicely incorporated with pasta.
Made with spinach instead of kale…it was delicious!!! My 3.5 year old had 2 bowls. Will definitely be making this again!!
★★★★★
Good but needs just a little bit more flavor
★★★
Quick, easy and delicious!! Love the kale in this casserole. I used chickpea pasta and raw cheddar to make a little healthier topped with Parmesan. Cheese…delicious!!
★★★★★
You are welcome, Terri! Sounds super healthy.:)
My whole family loves this recipe! It is now on our regular dinner meal rotation. Thanks!
I loved how easy this was to assemble. I also loved that the ingredients were ones I had on hand. I used a red lentil pasta, and using these directions, it came out with the perfect texture. I think that the seasonings were lacking for our taste. We wouldn’t make it again unless we could really figure out a way to zest it up.
★★★
This was a hit tonight! Officially requested to be in the dinner rotation! Didn’t change a thing, except used only 1 lb of turkey and forgot to add the pasta water! Oops 🙂 Even still, it was delicious. I added a few dashes of garlic salt before putting it in the baking dish. Thank you for the recipe!
You are welcome, Amber.:)
I substituted kale for frozen spinach, and was short on cheese, but this was absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
This recipe was fantastic and very delicious. Everyone in my household loved it!
Great way to incorporate the might Kale:-)
Thank You!